


The 104th and Their Heichou

by Jeaven



Series: Birthday Struggles [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Birthday Party, Canon Compliant, Drinking Games, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, Light-Hearted, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-06 20:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11608551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeaven/pseuds/Jeaven
Summary: Levi refuses to celebrate his birthday. Eren disagrees, Sasha just wants food and Jean gets dragged along more or less against his will.





	1. Chapter 1

**The 104th and their Heichou**

  
There's a knock on the door.

Erwin puts the document in his hands away. “Come in.”

The door bangs open with way more force than any of his soldiers would possibly use and Erwin is left to confusedly blink at the tangled mess that is three young recruits stumbling into his office.

“Don't just _push me_ , you idiot!” Eren Jeager throws Jean Kirstein a glare that equals a gravestone on a freezing winter’s day.

“You were the one who wanted to do this so damn bad,” Jean hisses and returns that glare flawlessly. “It's only fair that you're going in first!”

“Stop arguing!” Sasha Blouse scolds them both and that's when they realize that Erwin has been watching them with raised eyebrows. They both immediately stop their bickering and straighten their posture in a hasty salute. Eren's cheeks are flushed, though Erwin can't tell if it's from anger or embarrassment.

“Commander,” Eren says.

“Eren. Jean. Sasha.” Erwin nods at them and they take their hands down. “What is it?”

Eren swallows and the words are tumbling out of his mouth almost too quickly to understand. “We don't know when the Captain’s birthday is, Sir.”

If possible, his eyebrows raise even higher.

Eren looks at both of his friends for support, but Sasha looks mildly terrified and Jean still seems to be pissed off.  
“We want to celebrate it. If you allow it, Sir, of course.”

Erwin stares at him for a second longer, but as sheepish as Eren looks, he seems to mean it.  
“Nobody knows when the Captain’s birthday is,” he tells them, an amused smile forming on his lips.

Eren’s face falls. “Oh.”

“But if I recall correctly, Hanji forces him to accept a present every year around the same time.”

A grin spreads across the young soldier’s face and it almost seems like he's short of jumping up and down. “Thank you, Commander, really, we-“

Sasha cuts him off, apparently excited enough to forget that she's standing in front of her Commander. “Can we get special food for that?”

Erwin thinks about how furious Levi would be if he found out that he's helped them with this, and adds: “You can use the dining hall and the kitchen, if you want to, but clean it first, and don't serve beer. He thinks it's disgusting.”  
Sasha looks a bit disappointed and Erwin decides that if he's doing this he might as well go all the way. “Ask Hanji if you want to get meat or presents. She has more connections than one might think.”

This time, Sasha is the one to look short of jumping from happiness. Eren grabs her arm, probably to prevent her from doing exactly that, and says: “Thank you, Sir. We would like you not to tell the Captain, if that's okay.”

Erwin snorts. “I wouldn't dream of it. He'd probably have our heads.”

Eren gulps and Jean narrows his eyes at him. “If Levi kills us, I'm blaming you.”

He seems genuinely annoyed and Erwin absently wonders why he's with Eren and Sasha, who are obviously more than happy to risk mortal wounds in favor of throwing Levi a party.

The three turn to leave, and Erwin stays silent until Sasha and Jean are out the door.

“Eren,” he says and the boy immediately freezes. “Stay for a bit. I want to talk to you.”

He sees him visibly gulping and smiles in reassurance, which doesn't calm him down the slightest. He then offers tea - a treat usually reserved for the higher officers -, which also doesn't work. He sighs. Sometimes he regrets having Levi beat him up in the courtroom, as Eren is still more intimated than he should be. Then again, it's better than him being shot by the Military Police.

“You don't have to be scared, Eren,” he says, bluntly, because he's out of ideas. “I just want to know what your intentions are for Levi's dinner.”

Eren tilts his head. “Sir, I'm afraid I don't understand.”

“Levi's been with us for many years, and nobody has ever wanted to celebrate his birthday. Well, apart from Hanji of course. But I think she's just trying to bribe him with that anyway. Not that it's working.”

Eren frowns. “But… I thought you guys celebrate birthdays? I mean we had a dinner for yours last time.”

“As I said, we don't know when his birthday is. And his past isn't something you should ask him about.” Erwin sighs. He doesn't like thinking about Levi's background; there's still so much even he doesn't know. “And while he has the utmost respect here, he is not exactly popular.”

“Oh.” Eren looks a bit sad now, instead of scared. “I didn't know that, Sir.”

Erwin shakes his head. “I don't think it's a bad idea. I'm just wondering why you of all people would be the one to do that.” That's a lie, of course. He already knows, or is at least relatively sure, but he wants to hear it from Eren.

Who has gone scarlet red again and stutters out an explanation that Erwin doesn't even pretend to understand.

“Eren,” he presses and the boy’s shoulders slump in defeat.

“I like him,” he mutters quietly.

Erwin keeps the smile on his face gentle and waits, until Eren raises his head and looks at him. “If you're planning to act on that, I'm not going to stop you. But I am going to warn you.”

Eren's eyes go wide, fear, confusion and surprise mingling together.

Erwin sighs. “Levi is our most talented soldier, but I consider him a friend, too. So, should you hurt him, he won't be the only one throwing punches.”

Eren splutters. “Sir, I really just want to celebrate his birthday. I don't… I mean, he'd never-“

Erwin doesn't let him finish. “Secondly, he's wary about being touched, so don't push it.”

Eren blinks. “I… Yes, Sir.”

Erwin regards him with a stern look. “And lastly, do act on it. God knows you two could be dead by tomorrow.”

“Yes Sir,” Eren repeats, still rather confused.

Erwin lets out a long breath. The kid really is as innocent as one could be after living in military barracks for two years. He can only hope that Eren will follow his words, even if he believes not to have a chance with Levi.  
“You can go now, Eren.”

The young soldier nods and leaves the room with another salute. Erwin sits back on his stool and idly wonders how it has come to him giving a fifteen year-old advice for dating Captain Levi. Weirder, even, how it has come to him helping three fifteen year-olds organize a birthday party for said Captain.

It's not like he's never celebrated Levi’s birthday. Usually, he helps Hanji with her present and later claims to not having anything to do with it to avoid Levi's annoyed comments. But even thought he knows Levi's anger is, for the most part, forged, he’s never even dreamed of doing something so… public. Then again, Eren has probably never done something half-way, even if it ended up getting him in trouble.

Going back to his papers proves to be harder than it should be. After all, documenting the amount of potatoes the Survey Corps need per month isn't nearly as entertaining as Levi trying to work with his new squad. Erwin would even feel a bit bad for him - the 104th trainee squad really is a handful - but as Levi has personally requested them to be on his team, he is more inclined to laugh every time the Captain complains about them.

Usually, Levi joins Erwin during his afternoon tea, and today is no exception. Except, maybe, that today he seems to be even less impressed by his subordinates than he normally is.

“I don't even know how they managed to survive this long,” Levi announces when he enters Erwin’s office a few hours later.  
Erwin doesn't even look up from where he's pouring hot water into two cups.

“They have a titan shifter on their side,” he points out patiently and Levi huffs.

“That's why I'm so surprised they're still alive. Eren can't even put a few logs onto another without causing some mild disaster.”

Erwin hands him his camomile tea and they both seat themselves. “What happened?”

Levi takes a sip of his tea, not even flinching at the nearly boiling hot water. “Hanji asked him to built a small house out of some wood, and it went quite well at first, but then he suddenly started to eat it.”

Erwin can't help himself and chuckles. Even more so when Levi throws him a freezing cold look. “I told you to stop cutting his dinner whenever he messes up.”

Levi scowles. “How else am I supposed to get him to listen?”

“Oh, I think he listens to you alright.”

“Careful, old man,” Levi grumbles.

“Why?” Erwin eyes him playfully. “He's walking defiance, but he always follows your orders.”

“That's because he's got some ridiculous hero-crush on me.” Levi takes another sip of his tea with an almost comically angry expression. “Not because he's actually able to grasp the responsibility he has.”

Erwin sighs. Years of listening to Levi rambling about his fellow soldiers have taught him that Levi usually complains about the ones he likes the most, Hanji being the prime example.

“Cut him some slack,” Erwin says, because the last thing he needs is Levi ruining Eren's trust in them by masking his feelings with anger. “He's only fifteen.”

“Exactly,” Levi mumbles, so quiet Erwin almost doesn't catch it. “That's the problem.”

He looks up, mildly alarmed, as if he hadn't meant to say that last part. Erwin smiles.

“You know, a relationship between a captain and their subordinate would be frowned upon, but if I don't know anything about it I can't forbid it.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Levi has his head raised in a slight challenge, but Erwin isn't fazed.

“Good. Me neither.”

Levi snorts and puts his cup back onto the serving tray. “I should get going.”

“Make sure Eren gets something edible to eat this time.”

The comment gets him one last scowl and then the Captain leaves his office and slams the door shut just a little bit harder than necessary.  
Erwin sighs and finally brings his own cup of camomile tea to his lips. It almost has a acceptable temperature now.

 

/-/

 

Jean has never liked Eren Jeager. No, scratch that. He's _hated_ the kid since the very first day of their training, and it's consecutively getting worse.

Sometimes, though, he thinks that despite the talent to annoy him, Eren is a good comrade.

Today is not one of those days.

“This is fucking stupid!”

“Stop yelling!” Eren answers just as loud. “I don't want to get caught!”

Jean huffs. “As if the Corporal would ever lay a hand on you. We're the ones in danger here.”

Sasha makes an affirming noise and Eren throws them both an angry look.

“He's already punched me in the courtroom…”

“That's different!”

“… And you're both here on your own account.”

“Actually,” Jean grumbles, “Sasha’s just in it for the food. And I'm not doing this because I want to. You better hold up your end of the bargain for making me do this.”

Eren rolls his eyes. “I will, don't worry. Now focus on our mission.”

Their “mission” is to get into Mayor Hanji’s quarters without getting caught by anyone that isn't Hanji herself. Levi has busied them with cleaning and training the whole day, and they haven't gotten around to talk to Hanji until now, shortly after dinner time.

They know Hanji is in her room, as she always is after experiments with Eren, even though Jean isn't quite what there even is to analyze about Eren eating some sticks he was supposed to build houses with.

“This is still stupid,” Jean hisses, unable to help himself. “Couldn't we have waited for a better opportunity? One that doesn't risk me and Sasha getting beheaded?”

“Levi would never do that,” Eren argues and Jean suppresses the urge to groan.

“If he finds out wandering around by the officer’s rooms he definitely will.”

Eren still looks like Jean’s just making that up - dammit, the kid really can't see past his crush - but before he can say anything Sasha’s quivering voice interrupts them.

“O-or maybe he'll make us skip dinner for a few days.”

“ _At least_ a few days,” Jean mutters darkly.

Sasha’s shriek echoes through the whole floor.

Somewhere further down the hallway, a door bangs open.  
They all instinctively flinch, and don't exactly relax when they see it's Hanji.

“Eren,” she calls. “Good to see you!”

Jean cringes. _Too loud. Way too loud._

“We wanted to talk to you,” Eren replies, significantly more quiet. “Privately.”

The freak with glasses actually looks delighted at that, and Jean not for the first time begins to wonder if his favor from Eren is really worth _this_.

They end up getting dragged into the Mayor’s office by Hanji herself. The door shuts behind them like some sort of prison cell, and Hanji has them seated on a couch before they can even stop to look around the room.

Jean decides he's not going to drink the tea before Hanji has even handed him a cup. He might have agreed to help Eren organize the Corporal’s birthday, but he's not going to risk poisoning.

“So, Eren.” Hanji, who is sitting behind her desk with her head resting on both hands like some kind of evil emperor, fixes her eyes on the brunet. “What did you come here for?”

“We want to celebrate the Captain’s birthday, and… Well, Erwin told us to ask you for presents and-“

Hanji’s eyes light up. “Oh, that's so _sweet_! Well actually, I think I'll better leave the presents to you, but if there's anything else I can do for you I'm all ears.”

Eren frowns. “Wait, why don't you help us with the-“

Sasha apparently decides that food is a more pressing matter and Eren is interrupted again. “We want to make beef stew for dinner. You have to get us the meat, please!”

Hanji almost seems offended. “Of course I'll help you with that! But only meat is boring, don't you think?”

Sasha looks like she's found an entrance to heaven or something, Eren is still confused and Jean's fear is rising by the second.

“What do you mean by that?”

Hanji scoffs. “Alcohol of course. No beer, though. He thinks it's disgusting. What do you think- Oh, wait! I know _just_ the thing.”

Jean eyes her warily, but she doesn't offer an explanation and instead starts to muse about date and location.

Eren frowns. “Don't you give him his present on the same day every year?”

“Of course not. He'd find a way to avoid me, silly.”

“We should just take the kitchen,” Sasha suggests, retracting the subject to the location.

“And bother him with the mess you'll make while cooking? No. But there are a few spare rooms around here. We just need to set up some tables. And we should invite the rest of your squad.

Jean wonders just when exactly “ask Hanji for advice” turned into “let Hanji plan the whole event” but there's no stopping it now. In fact, she's already turned to discussing if forcing Erwin to attend would work, to which Eren points out that Erwin has always avoided openly congratulating Levi on his birthday until now. Hanji doesn't seem very concerned about that, though, and moves right on to the question if they should plan anything besides the beef stew - Sasha proposes dessert - and ultimately comes to the decision that decorating is in order.

Eren frowns. “Do the Survey Corps even _have_ birthday decorations?”

Hanji shrugs. “No. But we'll find something else that fits. Flowers, maybe?”

The idea of presenting _flowers_ to _Captain Levi_ is so ridiculous that Jean starts laughing without really meaning to. Hanji apparently takes this as approval and promptly assigns him to picking them. Jean's protest - “Wait, why me?” - goes unheard.

In the end, they - or rather, Hanji - settle on a date a few weeks away, which gives them enough time for Eren and Hanji to get presents and food, Sasha to come up with a dessert, and Jean to pick the goddamn flowers. (And he's absolutely sure the rest of the squad will never let him forget the fact that he _picked flowers for Captain Levi, why didn't Hanji make Eren do this, the little idiot would probably even be happy about that_.)

Then at last, she dismisses them. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Hey Hanji,” Eren says then and Jean wants to hit him. “Why are you leaving the presents to us?”

She crooks her head, smiling way too innocently. “He'd be way happier about something you thought of yourself, don't you think?”

Eren goes crimson red again and looks like he's going to protest, at which point Jean grabs his arm and bodily drags him out into the hallway.

 

/-/

 

Levi has them training almost every day, and he continues to be less than impressed by their skills. The next day is no different.

“If you're this slow in battle you'll get every last one of us killed, Connie!” “Sasha, quit thinking about dinner if you don't want to end up being one for the titans!” “Eren, you need to stop overestimating yourself! Mikasa might be able to do that jump, but you're not!”

And, okay, Eren knows Levi's only saying that to better their skills and raise their odds of survival, but it hurts all the same.

“But Sir-!”

“But what? You want to get yourself killed while unsuccessfully trying to look cool?”

Eren has to avoid the Corporal’s stern look. “I'm sorry, Sir.”

Levi rolls his eyes. “Go take a break,” he says, and wanders off to where Armin is trying to swing from one tree to the next without making a noise.

Eren sighs and lets himself collapse onto the ground.

“I really don't know what's wrong with you,” Jean announces and sits down next to him.

Eren stares at him, not quite sure if he's supposed to be mad at that. “What?”

Jean narrows his eyes at him. “Out of all people to have a crush on, you chose him.”

Eren grits his teeth. He's long past the stage of being able to hide what he feels for the Captain, but that doesn't make Jean’s comments any less annoying.

“As if you're so much better,” he bites.

Jean freezes. “I swear to god, Jaeger, if you break your promise-“

“I won't,” Eren grumbles, not liking the compromise he had to make in order to get Jean’s help at all. “But he's still way out of your league.”

“At least I'm not making you pick flowers for him.”

“That was Hanji, not me!”

“But you could have stopped her!”

“Guys.” Armin flops down next to Eren. “What's going on with you?”

Jean tenses. “What do you mean?”

“You've been talking to each other a lot,” Armin points out. “Without it ending in a fight.”

“It's very tempting though,” Jean mutters.

Armin ignores him, keeping his eyes trained on Eren and silently demanding an explanation. Eren sighs. He hasn't wanted to let anyone in on his plan from the very start, but he'd run across Sasha and Jean on his way to Erwin. Long story short, he ended up letting them in on his plan, and now he was stuck with Jean for the next few weeks.

“Eren?” Armin presses.

“We want to throw Levi a birthday party.”

Armin raises his eyebrows. “And he's okay with that? Oh wait, you haven't told him, right?”

Eren nods.

“He's going to kill you,” Armin states dryly.

Eren winces. “I know, but…”

He falters, not being able - or rather daring - to explain.

“He's suicidal,” Jean points out. “I thought that was obvious.”

Armin frowns, still not looking at Jean. “But… how are you even going to do that?”

“Hanji's helping us,” Eren says, which makes Armin look even more worried.

“Oi!” Levi's yell makes them all flinch. “Your break’s over. Get up here.”

They all obediently comply, though Jean doesn't waste the opportunity to throw one last menacing look at Eren.

  
Three weeks to go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kind comments on the last chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.
> 
> I actually already have the story fully written, so the next update will follow in the next few days.

 

Roughly five days into their preparations, Sasha almost burns the kitchen to a crisp.

In all honesty, Eren hasn't really been keeping track of how far Jean and Sasha are with their assignments (though he's relatively sure Jean hasn't started picking the flowers yet). So, when he's send to get a bucket of water because _the kitchen is on fire_ , he's a bit surprised, too.

His confusion, however, is nothing compared to Levi's rage.

When he arrives in the kitchen, the others have already done most of the work and where a few minutes ago the counter had been burning, now stands a black, formless piece of wood. Eren unceremoniously dumps his bucket over the smoking remains of the fire and throws Sasha a questioning look.

Before she can answer, though, Levi enters the kitchen.

All of them - Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Connie, Sasha and Eren himself - wince instinctively and eye the Captain warily. It's quiet for a few moments, then: “You know, the more time I spend with you, the more surprised I am that you're still alive.”

Sasha blinks. “Is that … a good thing?”

Levi narrows his eyes. “ _No_ , that's not a good thing. What the fuck were you even doing?”

Sasha squirms under his gaze. “I w-was just trying out a new recipe I thought of.”

“Are you on kitchen duty?”

“Well, no…”

Levi stares at her for a whole of five seconds, apparently dumbfounded. “Do you mind telling me why you were even in the kitchen if you're not on kitchen duty?”

Sasha stares at Jean and Eren, obviously seeking help, but Eren has no idea how he's supposed to save the situation and Jean is too busy trying not to laugh at Sash’s misfortune.

“L-like I said,” Sasha eventually stammers, “I've been trying out this recipe…”

Levi doesn't look at all appeased at that, and Eren's mouth decides he has to help her before he has time to think about it. “Captain, she had good intentions. I mean she didn't want to-”

Levi turns around so fast Eren almost flinches. “So you and her both forgot the importance of following orders, is that it?”

“No,” Eren protests weakly, but, of course, if proves to be futile.

After Levi's made sure that no one is harmed, he leaves Eren and Sasha to clean up the ashes.

Jean watches them get mops and soap ready, not a hint of sympathy on his face. “Man, you're in even deeper shit than I thought.”

“Shut up,” Eren snaps. “You could've helped us.”

Jean raises his eyebrows. “Why? I don't have anything to do with this.”

Eren is very tempted to hit him, but Armin seems to pick up on that, because he grabs Jean's shoulder and drags him outside, the others trailing behind them.

Sasha looks at the black mess they're going to have to revert to a relatively normal state and sighs. “This isn't fair.”

Eren doesn't answer her. He's also not really looking forward to the next few hours, but his mind is somewhere else entirely. He's getting more and more nervous about the whole birthday party thing. Secretly, he had to agree with Jean; the chance of getting beaten by the Corporal a second time was quite high. It was going to be difficult enough to convince Levi not to immediately flip out, not to mention that he still had no idea for his present…

“Hey, Sasha.” She looks up from a charcoal piece of wood she's been inspecting.

“Yeah?”

“What exactly were you trying to make?”

“Flambéed fruit. Since chocolate is so hard to get and we don't have anything to make cake with, you know?”

Eren hums in appreciation. That actually isn't the worst idea, if not for the whole kitchen fire thing.

“Maybe don't lit an open fire next time,” he suggests.

Sasha frowns. “But it's easier this way.”

“If you set the kitchen on fire _again_ , Levi will kill us for sure.”

She sighs, disappointed. “Okay, I'll think of a different way next time.”

Eren thanks her, inwardly and outwardly, and they resume their cleaning in silence. Well, that is until most of the grime is gone and Sasha claims that that's clean enough. Which, Eren knows, isn't _nearly_ sufficient for the Corporal, but in the end she leaves and he's left to do the rest alone, as always.

Just when he's through his first fourth bucket of soap and water and finds the state of the kitchen acceptable - save for the counter that'll have to be replaced, of course - there's a knock on the door.

“Crazy girl has left you alone, I see?”

Eren whirls around and immediately straightens into a salute. “It's okay, Sir. We were almost done anyway.”

Levi grimaces. “Put your hand away from your shirt. I can't even decide which part of you is more filthy.”

Eren's hands retreat to his sides. He eyes Levi warily. The Corporal is still mad, no question about that. But, even worse, he seems even less collected than he had been when he'd put Eren and Sasha on cleaning duty. The silence stretches around them as Levi surveys the kitchen, until Eren simply can't stand it anymore.

“C-Captain.”

Levi raises his eyebrows and he swallows.

“Sasha really did have good intentions.”

“And you know that because?”

Eren hesitates.

_Crap_.

Technically, he really didn't know what Sasha was going to do, but then again, they were all part of the same plan.

“I was just… assuming, Sir, because Sasha really wouldn't do that without a good reason to.”

“Oh, wouldn't she?” Levi answers dryly.

Eren bites his lip and avoids meeting his eyes.

“I think you're lying,” he states flatly and Eren flinches. “But, lucky for you two, I've got better things to do than listen to some dumb teenager explanation.”

Eren sighs in relief, but apparently, that isn't the end of it.

“But you've got to understand one thing. Hey, look me in the face.”

Usually, looking at Levi's face isn't a problem for Eren at all, but in that moment it takes more courage than facing a titan. Levi stares at him with such intensity that Eren forgets to breathe for a second.

“This was fucking dangerous, even idiot teenagers like you should understand that. If your comrades hadn't acted so quickly, that fire could've spread and we would be standing in a ruin now. I don't care what shit you were trying to accomplish with that, but it was fucking stupid.”

Actually, Levi should probably deliver this speech to Sasha, but Eren is too scared (and transfixed) to say anything. Levi doesn't even blink, and the look in his eyes seems to get even more intense as his voice drops lower.

“And if this ever - ever - happens again, you're going to get in real trouble, got it?”

Eren breathes out. “Yes, Sir.”

“Dismissed.”

 

/-/

 

Another week after that, Hanji takes him aside to tell him that she's managed to secure some beef and sugar for Levi’s birthday dinner, which painfully reminds Eren of the fact that he still has no idea what he's going to give Levi as a present. Hanji refuses to help him - _“He'll be so much more happy if it's something you thought of yourself!”_ \- and he is, plainly spoken, clueless.

What do you give Corporal Levi for his birthday?

Besides cleaning supplies of course, and somehow he doubts that that's what Hanji meant when she said Levi would appreciate his originality.

But pondering over Levi's taste in presents doesn't help at all - in fact, it makes matters worse. One morning, when he's sitting with Levi and Hanji on the breakfast table and they're discussing the experiments scheduled later that day, he notices Levi sipping on his tea. It's not the worst idea, he thinks, giving Levi tea for his birthday, but he has no idea what sort of tea Levi likes.

He doesn't even notice that he's zoned out completely until Levi kicks him in the shin. He yelps and apparently still isn't quite awake, because the first thing that comes out of his mouth is: “Peppermint!”

Levi and Hanji both stare at him. Eren feels his cheeks turn pink.

“I… uh, was wondering what kind of tea you were drinking, Sir.”

Levi raises his eyebrows. “It's camomile. Mint is almost impossible to get, least your name is king or queen. Why do you care, anyway?”

Eren opens his mouth and immediately closes it again, uncomfortably aware how how stupid he probably looks. Before he can say anything and embarrass himself further, though, Hanji saves him by throwing an arm around Levi's shoulders.

“Come on, you can't fault him for being curious!”

“Get off me, shitty glasses. You're both being stupid.”

Hanji rolls her eyes. “Stop pretending to be grumpy.”

“I am grumpy.”

Watching Levi unsuccessfully trying to push Hanji away from him makes Eren wish he could be like that with the Corporal too.

Realistically spoken though, anyone besides Hanji trying to wrestle Levi would probably end up with lethal injuries. Trying to find a fitting birthday present is all he can do at the moment (and it's difficult enough anyway).

_“Oi.”_

Levi nudges him and Eren realizes he's spaced out again.

“Uh, yes. I mean, Sir. What's going on?”

Levi looks only mildly annoyed, which Eren decides to take as a good thing. “Get up. Your experiment’s been rescheduled to now.”

Eren scrambles and hurries to follow him. “Why?”

“Hanji's leaving for the inner walls this afternoon.”

Eren is tempted to ask _why_ again, but decides not to. He probably knows better than Levi why she's leaving, anyway.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, they're standing in front of the clearing they've been using for Eren's transformations. Around them, there are several soldiers scattered in the trees, prepared to intervene should something go wrong. It's not Hanji's squad though, because Hanji's squad is busy preparing for the trip to Sina. Normally, it would've made Eren nervous, having others watching. But his mind is still lingering on the tea.

Or rather, Levi's present.

And that's not good, _that's not good at all_ , because he's supposed to concentrate on learning to control his titan form, not debating whether tea is an acceptable present, but it happens anyway.

“Remember, you goal is to build a house with those logs,” Hanji tells him before she deems him ready to transform.

Just before he does, however, his minds slips from _build a house_ to _find a present_ and needless to say it all goes to shit.

Later, he obviously doesn't remember much of what happened, only bits and pieces of him completely ignoring the pieces of wood and instead immediately starting to rip chunks of bushes and grass out of the earth.

That in itself is embarrassing enough, but knowing that it happened because he was _still_ thinking about tea makes it even worse. There's no way he's explaining that to Levi. Not that he's able to, anyway, when he's cut out of his titan.

There's the initial confusion, of course, and then, when it comes back to him where he is and what happened, he exhaustion is so bad he nearly doubles over when he's freed from his titan flesh.

He hears a grunt and then strong arms around his back are lifting him up.

“Dammit, what the fuck is wrong with you today?”

Eren blinks and realizes he's staring directly into Levi's eyes. Which immediately makes his mind go blank.

“Uh…”

In the back of his mind he realizes that he probably shouldn't be laying in the Corporal’s arms like this for any longer than necessary and tries to straighten up, but that only ends up in him almost falling again.

“Idiot,” Levi hisses and tightens his arms around him, and, oh, that should probably not feel so good. “Stop moving.”

Eren tells himself to relax, to no avail. He's so aware of Levi's hands around his shoulders and waist it almost hurts. The fact that Levi's eyes are still fixated on him isn't helping either.

“What happened?” he asks sluggishly.

Levi snorts. “I sort of hoped you'd be able to explain to me why you suddenly decided to disobey our orders.”

Eren's cheeks blaze bright red. There's no way he's telling the Captain he was preoccupied thinking about _tea_.

“Well?”

“I…” Eren falters, searching for words, and his eyes fix on the way Levi's shirt is hugging his chest muscles.

“My eyes are up here, brat.”

Eren's face immediately snatches up and the expression in Levi's eyes makes him want to look away again.

His crush has been an open secret for quite a while now, but he still hates to think about _Levi_ knowing.

“S-Sorry, Sir.”

Levi rolls his eyes. “I have to get us down before your titan evaporates. Try not to fall again.”

Eren thinks about Levi's strong arms carrying him and _yeah_ that's also not what he's supposed to be concentrating on right now.

“Yes, Sir.”

 

/-/

 

When Hanji is back from wall Sina and Levi gives him permission to transform again, it's a few days before Levi's birthday and Eren still has no ideas for his present.

And this time, he fails to transform completely.

His brain is too disheveled, his thoughts too frantic (and too focused on tea, but that's _so not_ how he wants to explain his failure to himself). Turning into a titan would at the very least end up embarrassing, if not downright dangerous.

He’d rather be eaten by a titan than postpone Hanji's studies though, so, despite his better judgement, agrees to try again.

“Don't fucking start to eat the environment again,” Levi says to him and Eren can only do so much as nod.

He doesn't need the Corporal to tell him that that's a bad idea, but somehow, coming out of Levi's mouth it's much more pressing.

He walks to the middle of the clearing, chanting _don't fail, don't fail_ in his head, but he could've just as well sung a nursery rhyme. In the end, nothing happens anyway. The memory of the last transformation is still painfully clear in his head, and there's nothing he can do that could push it away. When he sinks his teeth into the flesh of his hand, there's a _giant, giant_ part of him that fights the transformation with tooth and nail.

And, of course, nothing happens.

At first, relief floods through his body.

Then, he remembers the situation he's in and frustration makes the relief shatter like the teacup Sasha dropped this morning in the kitchen.

This time, he doesn't have to ask himself _why, why won't it work_ because he already knows why. Not that that's making anything better; the fact that _Captain Levi's birthday party_ is distracting him so much that he can't even turn into a titan is just downright laughable.

Nevertheless, it's the truth, and he doesn't quite want to believe it. Which is why, like every other time when he's had difficulty transforming, he tries again and again and again, even though he knows bloodying his hand won't do any good.

Before he can even get to biting a fourth time, however, there's a thud next to him and suddenly Levi's hand is prying his arm away from his face.

“What's the matter?” he asks flatly and Eren can't quite bring himself to look at him.

“I- I don't know, Sir. I'm sorry.”

There's a second of silence, in which Eren already starts envisioning every possible insult Levi could have in store for him, and then-

“We're going to have to stitch you up before going back to the HQ.”

Eren blinks. “Yes, Sir. I mean, what?”

“Your hand has already gotten half of my clothes dirty, and you expect me to let you walk around like that?”

Now Eren _has_ to look at Levi, and is admittedly a little shocked (and embarrassed) at how much blood really did land of Levi's shirt and pants. But before he can even apologize, though, he's being dragged away by the arm Levi still hasn't let go of.

Still confused, he can't help but ask “Where are we going, Sir?”

“To somewhere with bandages, idiot,” Levi answers briskly.

Eren frowns and still doesn't quite understand why the Captain has to escort him to get the bite on his hand fixed, but decides to keep quiet.

When they've reached the trees, most of the soldiers back away from him - though if it's because they're afraid of him or just don't want to get blood on their clothes is anyone's guess.

Hanji however immediately starts fussing over him, which Levi doesn't appreciate. “Eren, did something happen? Are you nervous because there are different people around this time? You really don't have to worry, dear. Oh, but we should definitely test if-“

“Get out of the way, four-eyes,” Levi grunts, which actually shuts her up. “If we don't get Eren's hand wrapped he'll undoubtedly find some stupid way to get the rest of you dirty, too.”

Hanji frowns, but does as Levi told her and gives them space. Eren feels like he has still not fully caught up on what's happening and watches a bit dumbfounded as Levi rummages through the saddlebags of his horse.

“What's with the staring?”

Eren flinches and blinks at him but Levi hasn't even turned around. “I just… what are you doing?”

“Getting bandages, obviously,” Levi answers dryly and walks back to him, said bandages in his left hand.

Eren decides to just let whatever is going on happen before he embarrasses himself even more. They're both quiet when Levi cleans and then wraps the wounds on his hand, which Eren is grateful for. Levi's hands are quick and precise, but at the same time almost gentle, and yeah, making conversation while processing that might've been a bit complicated.

It's when Levi's done and Eren's hand is completely wrapped up, however, that Levi starts talking and things get complicated.

“What happened today, Eren?”

He's tempted to call for Hanji or find some other way out of the situation, but Levi's tone doesn't permit him to so.

A bit helplessly, Eren swallows. “I don't know, Sir.”

Levi looks up. “And the other day, when you decided to make a meal out of the forest? Got an explanation for that?”

Eren bites his lip and he really _hates_ lying to Levi, but what other choice does he have? “I don't know, Sir.”

Levi eyes him up and down and it's obvious that he doesn't believe a word Eren's saying. But, for some reason, he merely says: “You do know that you're our only hope at winning this god forsaken war?”

Eren nods sheepishly. “Yes, Sir.”

“And you do know that you can't afford slips like that?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Then I would like to know what possessed you to think that getting distracted now was a good idea.”

Eren stares at him, silently, not liking the turn the conversation is taking one bit. Levi sighs, clearly exasperated.

“I know there's something going on. And before you start explaining, I don't want to hear about it. What I care about is the fact that we're all gonna die if you don't get your shit together.”

“I know,” Eren murmurs. And _dammit_ it's not like he's failing his transformation on purpose. At least, he's tried to push his worries away, but that got him absolutely nowhere.

“Then I'd start taking this more seriously, if I were you.”

Eren presses his lips to a thin line. He knows that Levi's got a point - heck, Levi never _doesn't_ have a point - and somehow that makes this whole situation even worse. “I am taking it seriously, Sir.”

“You're performing even more poorly than you normally do,” Levi informs him.

“I know!” Eren clamps his mouth shut and forces himself to calm down a little before continuing. “Just… I'm planning something, okay?”

“That makes it even worse, Jaeger.”

The thing is, Levi is absolutely right. And he doesn't exactly have anything else ready to say and explain the situation. But then, for some miraculous reason: “Actually, by all means, go do whatever you're planning to do. I don't care. But if you get yourself into trouble again, you'll be explaining it to me.”

Eren's so happy he's short of jumping up and down, by for the sake of Levi's mood decides not to.

“Thank you, Corporal!” he babbles instead and Levi turns away from him with a pointedly annoyed expression.

And then, on top of it all, Eren suddenly knows what he's going to give the Captain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to post this earlier but Ao3 wouldn't let me.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you had fun with the story and enjoy the last chapter!

To say Levi is worried would be a drastic understatement.

Hell, all it'd take for Eren and his friends to cause the potential end of the world is for him to look away from them for one simple moment.

And yeah, he'd sort of been aware that they would be a handful when he'd requested for them to be on his team, but _damn_ it's even worse than expected.

He hasn't dared to put Sasha on kitchen duty since _the incident_ , but he's more or less sure she still sneaks in there when she thinks he isn't looking. And that's not even the worst of it, at least in comparison to Eren's recent failures during the titan experiments. Levi went to Erwin after that, who actually had the guts to laugh at him ( _“It was your own idea to have them on your team, Levi”_ ).

In conclusion, there's no way for him to get out of this, and this day starts even worse.

Jean has excused himself to go for a fucking walk of all things in the morning, and since Eren went with him there's even more reason for him not to trust the momentary peace that's settled over the HQ.

His suspicions are proven right when Erwin takes him aside just before dinner.

“You might want to follow Eren before you eat.”

Levi stares at him. “Excuse me?”

But Erwin, the bastard, only shrugs. “Just saying.”

“Knowing that brat, something is on fire again.”

Erwin laughs at that. “Well, I’d hope not. But why don't you see for yourself?”

Levi's just about to tell him that he's not about to take part in some dumb teenager prank, _thank you very much_ , but in that very moment Eren walks around the corner.

“Corporal?”

Levi narrows his eyes at him, which makes the kid’s voice go smaller.

“I- I just want to show you something. It's not bad, I promise.”

That sounds so much like _famous last words_ that Levi should probably order him to get lost, but Erwin's still looking at him like he's seriously going to judge Levi if he rejects Eren. He emits a long, drawn-out sigh. “ _Fine_. But Sina help you if you've made a mess somewhere.”

Eren, of course, immediately starts babbling. “We haven't! Well, kind of, a bit, but it's a good mess, I promise!”

“Stop talking,” Levi mutters, feeling slightly ill.

Eren exchanges a look with Erwin that's way too nervous for Levi's liking, then proceeds to lead him down the hallway.

And, well, considering Eren's behavior in the last couple of weeks, Levi's steeled himself for the worst, but he didn't quite expect _this_.

It's one of their spare rooms, only there's a giant table in the middle of it, decorated in flowers and his whole squad is gathered around it, with actually clean clothes on and the expressions on their faces a comical mixture of excitement and fear. Levi's eyes roam the scenery for a long, silent moment, then settle on Sasha, who's wearing an apron.

“You were cooking again, weren't you? After I _explicitly_ told you not to.”

“Corporal, she made beef stew,” Eren hurries to say.

Levi can't help his posture slightly relaxing. He hasn't had beef stew in _he couldn't even remember_. “Why?”

Eren sighs. “This is your birthday party, Sir.”

Yeah, that doesn't make anything better. He's so confused for a second, the only thing that comes out of his mouth is _“What exactly do you mean by party, Jaeger?”_

Eren grimaces. “Well… I just wanted to let you have a nice dinner, but I think Hanji's got alcohol, too.”

Levi snorts. “Yeah, she'd never pass an opportunity like that.”

It's quiet again, after that, and Levi realizes they're all waiting for his reaction. And a part of him really, _really_ wants to yell at them for wasting their time and strength for this, but the bigger part of him is still struggling to remember when he'd last had beef stew. And he doesn't even need to look into Eren's pleading eyes that have a pathetic resemblance to puppies to make his decision.

“Where am I sitting?”

Everyone stares at him.

Eren chokes.

“What?”

Levi blinks irritably. “I asked: Were am I sitting?”

Eren still doesn't answer, which prompts him to add: “You do have thought this through, right?”

That gets Eren moving. In a matter of a few seconds, Levi's seated at the head of the table, and the rest of the squad takes their places around him - Eren to his left and Jean to his right, while Sasha hurries out of the room, presumably on her way to the kitchen.

Levi forces himself to push the images of a burning building out of his head.

To his utmost surprise, nothing dangerous happens. When Sasha returns, it's with a giant, steaming pot that emits a truly delicious smell.

The pleasant moment lasts for about five seconds, then there's a loud thud and Hanji bursts through the door, nearly knocking over Sasha in the process.

“ _Oi_ ,” Levi yells. “Watch it, four-eyes.”

“ _Leevee_ ,” she responds in a tone that's usually reserved for the titans. “I'm _so glad_ you decided to join us.”

Levi, who begins to suspect that she would've forced him if he hadn't followed Eren on his own, only rolls his eyes.

“Oh no, none of that,” Hanji chirps and slams two bottles of rum onto the table in front of him.

Levi blinks at the label, which reads _Premium Rum - Double Distilled_ , and mutters “If this is supposed to be my present, you're even more useless than I thought.”

“Why?” She seems honestly offended.

“Because you're going to drink half of that by yourself anyway.”

Hanji frowns, but before she has a chance to put another bullshit reason forward, the beef stew interrupts them.

And just this once Levi is glad for Sasha's food enthusiasm, because Hanji actually leaves him alone in favor of taking her seat and tending to her own bowl of stew.

And, _dear Sina_ , it's good.

He remembers always loving beef stew for its rich taste and the warmth that comes with a soup, but this time it's even better. Maybe because it's been such a long time, but either way, he enjoys it so much he's complimented Sasha on her cooking before he can think twice about it.

Which makes her stare and giggle, until his scowl shuts her up again. That's when he notices Eren smiling at him.

“Something on my face, Jaeger?” He snaps, which only makes the stupid smile go bigger.

“No, Sir. It's just nice to see you so relaxed.”

Levi doesn't know what he's supposed to say to that. He plays it off by telling Eren to eat before the first ice blocks start forming in his stew.

Eren complies, but the smile doesn't fade from his face.

It's actually rather nice, Levi has to admit, just sitting with his new squad for dinner, for once not talking about he titans and the general end of the world. He used to rather like just chatting with his squad - his _old_ squad, he reminds himself with a slight bitterness - just catching up on how his soldiers were doing, getting to know them better. Now, he knew almost nothing about what the young recruits were talking about. (For example, why is Eren constantly nudging Armin in Jean’s direction, as if trying to accomplish something? If Levi didn’t know any better, he’d say Eren was trying to solve some sort of relationship problem between the two.)

Also, he still has questions about where the flowers came from. He decides against asking though (mainly because he fears another almost-burning-the-HQ horror story).

It's when Hanji decides to open the bottles of rum that things get a little out of hand.

It's obvious, of course, that this is Hanji's personal excuse to get shitfaced, but Levi still can't help grimacing when she proposes a drinking game.

“Not everyone's a fan of making themselves puke on purpose, shitty-glasses,” he informs her.

She only grins and waves him off. “Now, don't be stupid, Levi. We're just going to have a little fun.”

Considering Hanji's definition of _a little fun_ has more than once led to lethal injuries, Levi isn't exactly consoled by that. Alas, he has little choice but to let her fill his glass too, because Eren's still looking at him with those stupid puppy eyes that would for sure break into ugly crying or something if he refused.

“Oh, I know,” Hanji announces when they're all holding a glass with clear liquor in it. “We still have to sing a birthday song - yes we do stop making a face, Levi - so we'll just take a sip every time we say the word ‘birthday’!”

Jean groans. “Hanji no.”

Hanji grins. “Hanji yes!”

Long story short, Levi decides to leave before the 104th even had the chance of completing his birthday song. By that time, he's almost finished his glass and is definitely feeling the buzz, but it's nowhere near clouding his senses. Which is exactly how he wants to remain for the rest of the night.

Hanji doesn't appreciate that. “Hey, you can't leave your own party early.”

“I can and I will,” Levi answers briskly. “Besides, Eren wants to show me his present.”

Eren blinks at him. Levi sets his jaw and prays to Sina that Eren for once in his life will get the hint. Miraculously enough, he actually does and scrambles to get up from his chair. Levi notices his movements swaying a little.

“Uh, yes! I really want to give him his present now!”

Levi grimaces - that was about as smooth as used titan blades - but Hanji takes the bait and lets them go so he decides not to complain.

The first thing Levi does when they're outside is take a deep breath and appreciate the silence.

The first thing Eren does is wish him a good night.

It takes a moment for Levi to catch up on what's happening, and by the time he does Eren is already moving down the hallway.

 _“Oi!”_ Levi calls. “Get back here.”

Eren turns around looking utterly confused and Levi just wants to hit the kid for making him say this out loud.

“I meant it, with the present.” His voice is lower than it normally would be and he can't quite make himself meet Eren's eyes. “You _do_ have one, right?”

Eren blinks. “Y-Yeah, how did you…”

“It'd be kind of ridiculous to organize a party but forget the present,” Levi says, leaving out the fact that with Eren's smile through the evening, he'd just been able to tell. “Now, what are you waiting for?”

Eren takes another second, then it finally seems to dawn to him that Levi really does want his present, and he starts to skip down the hallway much too excitedly. Levi barely has the time to yell “Meet me in my room!” after him.

It feels horribly juvenile and Levi doesn't really know what to do with himself once he's back in his office. Hell, he isn't even sure what he was thinking, inviting Eren, but he can't really bring himself to regret the decision either.

Okay, maybe he does, a little bit, when he opens the door to Eren's knock. Eren is clutching a small box in both of his hands, wrapped in some old paper. He's clearly about to say something, but falls silent, eyes huge and fixed on Levi.

In some vague place in his head, Levi realizes that with his jacket and 3DM gear removed, he's only wearing his white shirt, cravat and pants, hence, probably, Eren's staring.

_He's fifteen._

Levi silences the voice in his head for the moment as he steps aside to let Eren in. The kid looks pretty lost, standing in the middle of the room and staring at the interior.

“What's wrong?” Levi asks and shuts the door. “Cat got your tongue?”

Eren blinks and seems to come out of some sort of stupor, because he stumbles hastily towards Levi, handing him the package.

Eren's eyeing him nervously, but he doesn't open the present right away. Instead, he leans back against his desk with a sigh.

“Eren?”

The kid’s head jerks up. “Y-Yes, Sir?”

“Why did you do this? The dinner, I mean.”

„It wasn’t just me,“ Eren says, clearly avoiding a proper answer. „Sasha helped, and Jean, and Armin, well, him not really. But Jean wanted to get closer to him, for some reason, so I had to include him in the planning, but…“

The kid’s clearly not thinking about his words, stumbling over them like a helpless toddler. And Levi, in all honesty, doesn’t want to hear details about his squad’s love life.

„You still haven’t answered my question, Eren.“

Eren avoids his eyes again.

“I just… I noticed that we're always celebrating the Commander’s birthday with a dinner, Sir. And I wanted to- I mean, if we do it for Erwin, why not for you?”

Levi snorts. “That's gotta be the most bullshit explanation I ever heard. We've got an army of giant naked people on our asses, and you kids thought celebrating my birthday is a good idea?”

Eren flinches, but raises his head and locks his eyes with Levi's. “I figured, if it makes you happy it's worth being a little distracted for. Sir.”

Levi doesn't really have a response to that.

And _shit_ he hasn't _ever_ considered actually making a move on Eren; they're in the middle of a _war_ and Eren's _fifteen_ …

“You're fucking stupid,” he finally announces, but his voice his hoarse. “My birthday is the last thing worth getting distracted for.”

Eren breathes out, and suddenly there's that smile again, tugging at his lips as if mocking Levi's pathetic attempts at keeping the kid at a reasonable distance.

“Open your present, Levi.”

He doesn't call Eren out on the fact that he's forgotten the honorary. His fingers seem to move on their own accord as he unwraps the package.

A second later, he's staring at a pretty anonymous-looking blue box.

“Open it,” Eren urges him.

Levi resigns to his fate and does as Eren's told him. There's a handful of small bags inside the box, made of fabric so thin it's almost see-through, and inside them Levi can see leaves that have been broken into tiny pieces.

“Tea?” He asks, only mildly surprised. “So that's why you were eating the ground in your titan form?”

Eren flushes all the way down to his neck. “I- I didn't do it on purpose, Sir.”

Levi snorts. “That much I don't doubt.”

He takes one of the tiny bags in his hands to inspect it. There's a quite pleasant smell emitting from it, but he can't fully place it.

“It's mint tea, Sir,” Eren says and Levi stares at him.

“How the fuck did you get your hands on that?”

The flush darkens even more. “I collected it myself, Sir. In the woods. Sasha showed me what to look for. It's Pennyroyal Mint, though. A bite more common, and I had to mix it with normal tea leaves, but I figured it's better than nothing.”

Levi can't help but let himself breathe in the refreshing smell of the mint leaves. Hell, a cup of mint tea is even longer ago than the beef stew, and that's saying something.

“Thank you,” he says earnestly, and Eren's expression mirrors one of a child in Sina on Christmas Day.

The smile returns. That stupid, idiotic smile that could lit the whole room, and that Eren probably isn't even aware of.

“Captain?”

Levi tilts his head at Eren's confused question. Eren takes a breath, as if trying to gather courage, then: “You look kind of… happy.”

Levi raises his eyebrows.

“N-Not that that's a bad thing! I'm just, I mean, you're…”

With how Eren's struggling - and failing - to find words, it's obvious that there's not going to be anything remotely eloquent coming out of the boy’s mouth in the next few minutes. Not that Levi needs Eren to find those words; his crush has never been much of a secret.

But then again, Levi has never considered making a move on Eren. Until now.

“I'm thirty-four years old.”

Eren blinks at him. “What?”

“My age is thirty-four,” Levi repeats. “You really should think twice about having feelings for someone this much older than you.”

If Eren's face would go any redder, he'd for sure be on fire. “I'm not- ! I mean, I, yes, but…!”

The eloquence thing obviously isn't getting any better - having a discussion with Eren about this seems to be out of the question.

And Levi is just drunk enough to send all of his concerns to hell for a moment as he steps closer to Eren.

“I'm not misreading you, am I?” He asks, still, because there's no way he's going to force this on him.

He sees Eren's adam’s apple bob as he swallows.

“N-No. But why-“

“I want to,” Levi whispers simply, now only inches from Eren's face.

Eren goes perfectly still and Levi can feel his rapid breath against his lips, indicating the nervousness running through the boy in front of him.

When he kisses him, Eren takes a stunned second to respond, and when he does, it's messy and inexperienced. His lips moving against Levi's while not quite sure how to, his body pressing closer while not knowing what it was exactly he wanted.

Levi grunts, pushing back in an attempt to slow Eren down a bit, but it does little good. Not that he minds much, his own rum-fogged brain only focused on the fact that that's Eren in his arms, and his previous worries blown away. When it becomes clear that the boy in his arms, clueless as he is, has no idea how to proceed other than pressing himself harder against Levi, he gently cups Eren's cheek with one hand and gently presses his jaw downwards with one finger. Eren's gasp is swallowed by Levi's mouth as their kiss gets deeper, and he feels Eren shiver against him.

They stay like that for a while, pushing against each other and kissing.

It's rather nice, Levi decides. Eren's clumsy and nervous, sure, but his fingers are trailing along the small of Levi's back, and Eren’s pushing, yeah, but never too much so.

Eventually, though, he becomes aware of Eren's sluggish movements, and the alcohol in his own head starts to pound uncomfortably against his scull.

With a small sigh, he pulls away.

“Eager, are we?” He teases and Eren bites his lip. Which is clearly a gesture of shyness, but has the exact opposite effect.

“I've waited very long for this, Sir.”

“Levi.”

“What?”

“You just had my tongue down your throat, we can drop the formalities.”

A breathy laugh splits Eren's slips and Levi watches, transfixed. “Yeah. Thank you, Levi.”

Secretly, Levi thinks that he probably should be the one saying thanks, but as he's never been good at this stuff, the only thing that comes out of his mouth is: “We should probably go to sleep.”

Eren frowns.

Levi rolls his eyes. “What now?”

But Eren doesn't answer. Instead, he leans forward to kiss Levi on the cheek and then turns around and walks towards the door.

Levi sighs as he understands.

Being with Eren sure would be a pain in the ass.

“Where are you going, brat?”

Eren turns around and blinks, before realizing that Levi's given him permission to stay the night and his smile is so bright it makes Levi look away.

(Later, when they're both comfortably laying in Levi's bed, Eren snuggles up against him, not paying attention to his protests. Levi ends up with his arms full of Eren, and is kind of glad the kid can't see the smile on his face, as he whispers his thanks.)


End file.
